The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Taiwanese to have all the necessary travel documents ready before going abroad to avoid being denied entry to countries they plan to visit.
Taiwanese passport holders enjoy visa waivers, landing visas or e-visas to 142 countries and territories, but there have been cases in which they were denied entry to some of these countries for lack of required travel documents, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Consular Affairs Deputy Director-General Roger Luo (羅添宏) said.
Despite the privileges, certain documents are still needed for a Taiwanese passport holder to enter these countries, he said.
Over the past six months, there have been many cases in which Taiwanese passport holders were denied entry to some of the 142 countries because they did not have travel itineraries and records of accommodation bookings, Luo said.
These cases included Taiwanese denied entry at airports in New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, among others, he added.
Most of the cases occurred among Taiwanese planning to visit New Zealand; they were denied entry by immigration officers there and asked to return to Taiwan immediately, because they did not have their travel plans ready, Luo said.
Noting that visa exemption is usually for tourism, he urged Taiwanese travelers not to misuse the privilege if they are traveling for other purposes.
Otherwise, they would be denied entry to the countries they plan to visit, he said, citing a recent case of a Taiwanese person planning to travel to Japan.
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